Welcome to the first of many blogs about the world of photography, fashion, music and everything in between.

I'm delighted to be launching a new website aimed at people who are looking for a great head shot for their Spotlight profile, their Social Media profile, or for people who have always wanted a portrait that they can be proud of and one that goes just that bit further than the average picture.

I'm Marc Aitken and I have had a passion for photography ever since I was in my late teens. I was fortunate enough to come under the wing of an extremely talented film director who became the chief technician at an arts centre at which I worked. He had worked in all manner of roles within the film industry but he had worked with Enfant Terrible Ken Russel, he of Tommy and The Music Lovers fame and that was good enough for me. He taught me many things about photography (and life come to that) during the time he was my boss, but possibly the greatest lesson he taught me was in response to yet another of my weekly questions about lighting with which I had become mildly obsessed.

He responded thus:

" if you want to learn about light... go for an a walk in an English wood"....

Now.. a few decades on I think one can safely substitute an English wood for all manner of nationalities of wood, but I take his point. Walking through a wood on a sunny day with just the right amount of mist hovering among the tree tops you will discover every lighting scenario you are likely to need. There's dappled light, diffused light, direct sunlight and all the Ridley Scott 'Alien' style beams of light you could ever wish to encounter.

"So what's all this got to do with headhots? " you might reasonably declaim at this point.

Well.. everything and nothing as it happens. Although it's unlikely that if you decide to book a headshot session with me that I will choose to back light you wreathed in smoke like a scene from Ridley's debut masterpiece The Duelists, (although it has been known) it has instilled in me an awareness of light that will help me get the best picture of you I can. I've spent many years trying different lighting set ups and I take great pleasure in creating exactly the right type of lighting to make you look like the best version of you I can and hopefully with just a bit of movie style sparkle for added measure.

Likewise if you want me to shoot your portrait then you just might get the aforementioned Ridley treatment, that's assuming it's not a more conservative company portrait in which case the smoke and beams might have to be optional...

From a practical perspective it might be reassuring to know that I spent over twenty years working with actors and myself graduated from LAMDA, so if you're an actor who wants to feel confident that you're in the right hands, look no further.

If you are an entrepreneur or business owner who wants a head shot or company portrait , you can take comfort in the knowledge that I also spent many years working as a producer and production manager for large corporate events, for clients such as Apple, Microsoft, Disney, Jaguar, Mercedes, Buckingham Palace and even NASA! So I understand exactly what is needed to deliver the right kind of images for those environments and how to show you at your best.

Head on over to the testimonials page to see what past clients have said about working together and to the portfolio page to see the kind of work that can be achieved for your shoot.

And remember.. a smoke machine's for life not just for Christmas....

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